Car coupler



T. MORRIS Nov. 3, 1931.

GAR COUPLER Filed April 18 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Tom Morrismm I r 0Que-144 NOV. 3, T. MQRRIS CAR COUPLER Filed April 18. 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I lkhowego.

couplers which has prevented operation of i Patented Nov. p3, 1931.

f; v s Kap ncaami filed April 18,

I roivr-monnrs, on easms mwasr vIReInIA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRD 'roWILLIAM,

, jnoon;eivnoNE-rHm-n ToJUNIoUs Mason can. COUPLER v Thisinventionrelates to car couplers designed primarily for 'u'se inconnection, with mineoars. x Z As is well known to those" skilled 'inthe art 1t; is necessary that nnne ears' trave'l over rough trackshaving many fshort zcurves.

For thisreas on it has been a diificultmatter to devise rza couplermeans of which the curved portionsofthe track. o It has furthermorebeen*diilicultgto pro},

. cars can be coupledautomatically whilefon I trackare frequentlytoosmall to permit the use of operating 'levers'z and similar deviceslocated -where they willrnot interferewith the "operation ,of theendgates of, the ;.cars.

5 Another objection heretofore-=-present fin automatic couplershas beentheaccuniulation of small partieles' of' coal'infthe heads of the 7 theparts lunde'r' all conditionsf; "f

i It is ani'object, oi fhepresent inventionito 5 providea coupler thehead of which is mount- 5 v-id'ed therefor whereby the head willzbelproped to swing/laterally, 'a""support* beingjipro erly guided duringsuchmovei'nentx; f

Another object is; to provide a coupling head which can be'easilyshifted': by a foot 7 V of a person standing on' thereariportion'of I thev coupler at, a point where 'hewill not be injuredby any. partscoming together.

A'further object is to, provide a coupler having a head soconstructedthatparticles of i eration of the parts.

'coal and other substances cannot become lodged therein so'as tointerfere, with the op- A still further object is to provide improvedmeans for attaching the coupler securely to a transverse beam or bolsterforming a part of the car structure.v

' Another object is to provide novel means for locking the knuckle ofthe coupler in v 4 closed'position, said means being unafi'ected view"which will appear as the description proceeds the invention residesin'the combination and arrangement of parts and in the knuckle. V

fferred,can'be 1929. Serial No. 356,079.

details oiconstruotion hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstoodithat changes 1n the precise embodiment of the inventionferred form of the inventionhas been shown.

In said drawings,

' Figure 1 is a side; elevation of the coupler,

a portion of the car to which it is attached beingshown in section. Q rI a Figure 2 is a plan view.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Figure 2, one of the positions of thelocking dog being shown by broken lines.

Figure' is a horizontalsection through I the coupler. I

" "Figure 5 is a perspective view of the Referring to thefigures bycharacters of reference, -1 designates a clevis consisting of an upperplateQ-and a lower plateJ3 con nected by an integraltransverse web l;This olevis is adapted to straddle a cross beam or bolster: forming apart of the car structure and can be held thereto vby'bolts as shown Theupper plate 2' has a forward extension 5- while a broad tongue-6ishxtended for wardly from the lower plate 3, this tongue being'formed,at itsforward end, with an f enlarge'r'nent 7 extendinglater'allyfromthe tongue and formed-with an arcuate transv'e'rsets'lot8.- A'pivot pin'9 is adapted to be inserted downwardly through theextension 5and tongue6 and the slot 8 is concentric with this pin. It isto be understood that all ofthe parts thus far described, except the pin9, can be cast in'a single piece or, if prene'cted; 5 Theheadof'theco'upler includes a lower of separate parts suitably COILbox-like structure 10 the" forward end of which is open and recessed asshown at 11 while extending rearwardly from the .bottom of [this member10 is an ear 12;;The

bottom ofthe member 10 is cutFaWay atthe l top platel lthe sides ofwhich arecut. away as at 15. This plate'has anear 16 formed by the rearportion thereof. Plate 14 is. secured to the member by meansof bolts orthe like and one of these bolts, indicated at 17,

constitutes the pivot of the movable jaw 18,-- of the coupler. U The.movable jaw hasa Wing" or knuckle 20extcnding backwardlyand lat-''erally therefrom adapted, when the movable jaw18 is in lockingposition,to be positioned ,at one side of a locking dog 21 pivotally; mounted inthe coupler head on a supporting pin 22 extending transversely.

A housing 23is formed 3 on or secured to I the plate 14 and isadapted-toreceive the dog 1 21. when it is raised out of the path of thewingj20. This housing has a longitudinal slot 24 throughwhich extends ashank 25 fixedly connected to and extending-upwardly from the dog 21.

.The ears 16"and 12 extend between extension 5 and tongue6 and areprovided with openings 26 for the reception of the pin 9. i I With thecoupler head thus connected to the clevis, the bottom member 1Ov thereofwill reston' tongue 6 and its enlarged end 7 A bolt 27 or the likeextending downwardly from the member 10 is adaptedto slide in the slot8, the head of this bolt servingto; hold the head against upwarddisplacementrelative to the enlargement 7 I In practice the head iscoupled to the as explained and is thus free to swing laterally aboutthe pin '9, the tongue 6 and its,

. normally-extendedforwardly from the member' 10 at which time the,WingQO is located.-

' dicated: generally'at 28.

.When a car equippedwith this couplerap enlargement 7f constituting asupport and guide for thehead. The movable jaw. 18 is beneath and servesto support the free end of thedog 21. Qbviously that portion ofthemember 10 directly opposite the movable j a-w I 18 constitutes the usualfixed horn on jaw in proachesanother "carto which it. is to beconnected, the operator can: stand on the clevis'back of the pin 9.Either sideportion of the. enlargement 7 will constitute a foot restandbyplacing one foot thereon andpressing j.

therewith against the side of the member 10,

the head of the coupler can be shifted lateralcome clogged-.-

eration even though the car may be travelling along .a very short curve.

During the travel of a mine car over a stretch of track a considerablequantity of the coal piled thereon will slide 01f, some of this fallingon the the couple'rand frequently instance the coupler is provided withopenings 13 and 15 so that particles of coal and other foreignsubstances can sift throughthe head. 1 Consequently the head will notbeoperation ofthe dog. Shank'QS-afiIords ample means for lifting thedogwhen; it is desired to uncouple a car and this shank willnot stand intheway of-end gates nor will it becoming lodged in the head. In the presenthas been found 'superiorto an r necessitate any increase in theclearance pro- 7 videdlat the side oftheacar or the passage oi side 1levers Q or other coupler operating. means. lVhat-is claimed isz" In acar coupler the combination witha clevis for attachmentto the draft gearof a an, and-*atongueintegral with thebottom portion ofjthe'blevishavinga i't'ree end portion of greaterwidth than thefremaining portionfof acoupling head pivotally connected .to the elevis and supported by thetongue, the

free end portion of the tonguebeing extended f .l

laterally-heyondthe head under normalconditions, thereby. to; provide*footrests, there beingan arcuate-slot witliinthefree end pe -t1on'concentricw1ththepivot of the coupler headgkan'd means carried'by thecoupler head for sliding within'the slot tolimitthe-swing;

ing movement'oi the headrelative to the clevist" I In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as myowml have hereto aflixed my signature.

' roivr i MORRIS:

mark

' ly so'as to approach the coupler-on the next car at the proper angleto insure engagement of the jaws onthetwocouplers; ,As the-fo rwardlyextended movable jaw:;18; becomes 1 seated in the end of the couplerhead in the ppaththereof, said jaw 18 will be pressed in- 'Wardly so asto cause wing 20 to swing-lateral Y Said dog will ly from under the dog21.

thereforedrop to position in the path. of the wing and thereby preventjaw 18 from swing ing open. As both fcouplers on thetwo cars operate in'thesa'me way and simultaneously v the jaws 18 thereof will become"interlocked.

By mounting the head ofthe coupler as'described it can be 'easilyshiftedto insure op-

